HomeGoods to open in Shoppes at UTC

HomeGoods, a home furnishings chain, will open a new 20,000-square-foot store inside the Shoppes at University Town Center, a shopping plaza across from the new mall.

The home furnishings chain is taking over a space formerly occupied by Bealls Outlet, according to records with Manatee County building and development services. The space is currently being extended by 8,6000-square-feet to make the space a true 20,000 square feet in size before HomeGoods opens. The store is located in the same plaza as Nordstrom Rack, Total Wine & More and Marshalls, among several other retailers and restaurants.

HomeGoods operates two other locations in Southwest Florida – a store on Bee Ridge Road in Sarasota and another in Venice.

Bealls Outlet’s lease ended earlier this year and was not renewed.

HomeGoods is under parent company TJX Companies, which also operates Marshalls and TJ Maxx stores discount apparel stores. The chain has more than 400 stores nationwide.

For more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com. Read What’s In Store in print on Tuesdays.